220 



GLEANIXGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Aug. 



To combine the two (see page i:J3, 1st column, 

 Gleanings for May), whj not use here and 

 there 5 pin traps ? Numbers of these might be easily 

 and cheaply mounted in groups or rows, at any va- 

 cant spot in your house apiary. 



Speaking of the house apiary, I should recommend 

 sheet zinc for thq roof, which would require no paint- 

 ing, answers well and does not rust. 1 use it also to 

 rest the ends of rav frames on, in the hive. It would 

 beat tin for putting in joints of boards for covers, as 

 it does not rust. 1 like your A B O much. 



C'HAS. E. Fletcher, 



Luscombc, D.^wlish, England, May 17, 1877. 



We have thought of the trap, and similar ar- 

 rangements, to let stray bees get out of the 

 house apiary, and will make a trial of it; al- 

 though we fear they will not use thera, for 

 they seem in warm weather to stand round on 

 the walls and ceiling very contentedly, with- 

 out trying to get out. 



Zinc costs considerably more than tin in our 

 country, per square foot, and we can hardly 

 agree with you that it does not rust. That 

 zinc and galvanized iron are poisonous for 

 utensils containing liquids used for food or 

 drink, is now pretty thoroughly established. 

 This latter point I have jusf decided to my 

 perfect satisfaction by a practical test. Zinc 

 or galvanized iron should never be used for 

 honey extractors, or for holding honey. 

 Thanks for your kind suggestions, friend F. 



The curved end knife you sent nie is a perfect beauty. 

 Don't you think seven cents a discouraging price for 

 choice extracted honey ? That is what a prominent deal- 

 er in the West paid me for a lot of seven barrels recently. 

 Wm. H. Ware, Bayou Goula, La., June 18th, '77. 



EARLY SWARMING ; DISTANCE ITALIANS FLY, &C. 



1 always winter on summer stand, never lost a swarm 

 in frame hive in my life, and have been keeping Italians 

 for live years. I have IS stands and work for box honey, 

 not increase, as 1 have no ground room for more. Have 

 in ordinary seasons taken 32 four lb. boxes of nice bos 

 honey from one hive and two artificial swarms in Aug. 

 and Sept. I use large 10 frame hives and have strong 

 stocks. I have one stand of blacks as strong as the Ital- 

 ians are, but get almost nothing from them except cards 

 of brood for building up weaker ones. Have one stand of 

 hybrids some better than blacks, yet inferior to pure 

 Italians. Last winter was a fatal one to very many bees 

 in Sussex Co., some of my neighbors lost one-half to "three- 

 fourths of their stock, others had to feed. I lost one 

 swarm which came out on ItJth of Sept. last year and 

 smothered in a drift of snow this spiing with plenty of 

 honey to have carried it through ; it was in a little box 

 and I took no care of it or would not have lost it. My 

 Italians commenced swarming April l'2th ; 6 or 7 weeks 

 before I heard of a swarm elsewhere; my last was on 

 May 10th. My Italians being the only ones in 10 or 12 

 miles, have been seen in our mill branches gathering pol- 

 len, &c., 4 miles from town or from home. 



L. W. BETT9, Millsborough, Del., June 30th, '77. 



THICK AND THIN HIVES. 



I notice you have discarded the hoop hive ; is the closed 

 end Quinby frame, open to the same objection (too 

 much ventilation): if not, how thick should the end pieces 

 bef Would ).i inch do? "Enc^uiheb." 



Milwaukee, Wis., July 2d, 1877. 



I think the Q. hive without outside case, if 

 made of half inch stuff', would be objectionable 

 for the reason mentioned, especially in spring 

 and fall. Where the hives are made of thin 

 stuff", and made with open joints, we have 

 found the combs next the outside left empty, 

 or only partly filled. Where the section boxes 

 are well protected as in the house apiary 

 where we have them covered with chaff cush- 

 ions even during this July weather, we And 

 them filled and sealed over much the quickest. 

 During summer weather thin hives may do 

 very well, but as a general thing we much 

 prefer those of inch lumber. The chaff hives 



bear the direct rays of the summer sun, the 

 best of any we have ever used. We find no 

 trouble with the hoop hives for wintering, but 

 the difficulty is during the season of comb 

 building. I would use an outer case for the 

 closed end Q. frames. 



I often hear farmers say that keeping bees and fancy 

 poultry was for another class of people, and not for farm- 

 ers ; and a great many who keep ijees have got the old 

 straw hive and brimstone their bees in the fall ; others 

 keep the common dung hill fowl and say it will not pay 

 to get another breed. A year ago I bought a trio of whit^e 

 crested black Polands and last summer I raised 175 young 

 chickens for which I refused an offer of §200. Four years 

 ago I commenced keeping bees ; in the first place I tho't 

 I would keep them only to have honey for my own use, 

 but they did so well that I sold the first year honey to 

 the amount of §50, the second year $56, the third year $00, 

 fourth year $45, and now have 'J colonies of bees left that 

 are worth §100,00. Why can not other farmers do the 

 same ? D. N. Kebm, Shimersville, Pa. 



I bought two cjlonies of Mrs. Grimm, increased to five 

 and took 125 lbs. good extracted honey worth §25.00. 

 Wintered by placing a box a few inches larger each way 

 over them packed with buckwheat chaff. They win- 

 tered finel.v. Before the middle of May their hives were 

 crowded full of bees with so many drones hatching I 

 feared for my honey crop ; when lo, out came the bees 

 crowding and dragging out the drones from a few dozen 

 to a full pint from a hive. Did you ever before hear of 

 bees killing off their drones in the spring? What made 

 them do it? S. C. Pebrt. 



Portland, Mich., June 4th, 1877. 



Bees very often rear a large number of 

 drones, during fruit bloom, especially when it 

 yields abundantly ; and during the dearth of 

 pasturage that almost always occurs before 

 clover comes out, they are frequently killed 

 off as in the fall. This is quite an expense it 

 is true, and we should cither take means to 

 prevent their being reared, or keep up the sup- 

 ply of food during the interim, that they may 

 be ready for early swarming or queen rearing, 

 without the necessity of rearing a whole new 

 crop of drones. It is quite common for them 

 to be killed off as you mention. 



One word more for fdn. We have traded bees for 

 old combs every spring, with our less fortunate neigh- 

 bors, and know their value, but after testing fdn., 

 being rather prejudiced against it on the start, nn ac- 

 count of the cost, we have decided it to be worth 

 more than the old combs. We never want another 

 comb built without it. It pays, just to get all worker 

 cells. J. C. & H. P. Satles. 



Hartford, Wis., July 5th, 1877. 



IMl'ORTEU QIEENS. 



While SO many have complained about their im- 

 ported queens 1 am more than satisfied with mine, 

 she is certainly a beauty in every respect. 1 received 

 her from J. M. O. Taylor. Last year I thought of 

 renting a pew in " Blasted Hopes," but this spring my 

 bees are in splendid order while nearly all of my 

 neighbors have lost heavily from spring dwindling. 

 I am on the top of a hill where the wind blew so du- 

 ring the cold spring weather that it kept my bees in 

 their hives. At least that is my theory. 



H. P. Sayles, Hartford, Wis., May 17th, '77. 



We agree with you exactly ; not only have 

 we had better success in wintering than ever 

 before, since our bees were reared from the 

 imported stock, but we have bees that work 

 in the boxes without a single exception. We 

 have until this season had black bees in our 

 apiary, and our neighbors in the country who 

 have them, have afl"orded us a full opportunity 

 of testing their i-fspective merits for box hon- 

 ey. The freshly imported stock are far ahead 

 of them ; in fact they f re<iuently fill boxes at a 

 fair rate, when the blacks are losing in weight 

 every day. 



